Faces of the Fort is a multi-faceted initiative that seeks to elevate historic and present-day civil rights and social justice narratives of Fort Wayne residents. The first project selected from the recently released Art For All public art master plan, the project aims to increase awareness of community stories, promoting understanding, interaction, and a more robust culture of civic engagement. Faces of the Fort celebrates the rich history of Fort Wayne’s residents and their unique backgrounds, stories, and perspectives.

FEE (to artist):  $10,000 per mural (2 murals total / 2 different artists or artist teams)

ELIGIBILITY: Age 18 or older

DEADLINE: July 5, 2020

Project Description

Faces of the Fort is a project designed to share faces of the community through large-scale murals strategically located across Fort Wayne. The project seeks to elevate civil rights and social justice stories as well as the stories of new Americans who have moved to Fort Wayne in the recent past. The purpose of elevating these members of our community is to showcase their stories and ideas for a more equitable and
inclusive future for all City residents. We believe this project is important in aiding the community in celebrating their uniqueness through unifying murals and exposing and honoring stories of different backgrounds of fellow residents.

The project is inspired by the successful Atlanta ‘Off The Wall’ project which is designed to honor the city’s role in the Civil Rights Movement and address modern civil rights issues – including but not limited to race, gender, sexual orientation, and immigration status. The project will focus on community storytelling as a way to amplify and preserve the cultural legacy of Fort Wayne’s diverse neighborhoods.

Once artists are selected for the mural commission, we anticipate a series of community conversations that will help develop the stories in which the community will tell. We expect that the community conversations will emerge around the following themes: overcoming, convergence, strength, justice, rights and humanity.

About the Sites
This project consists of two different sites (neighborhoods) in Fort Wayne. One artist will be selected for Project Site A while a separate artist will be selected for Project Site B. In total, there will be two selected artists and each will be required to meet with a curated panel of residents, civic leaders and business owners in their specified project neighborhoods in Fort Wayne. The location of the walls will be determined
in June 2020 and the artist will be introduced to the site after they are selected.

Timeline

• June 9, 2020: RFQ distributed
• June 26, 2020: Deadline for RFQ Questions
• July 5, 2020: Proposals due
• July 23, 2020: Selected artists notified
• July and August 2020: Community engagement events
• August 2020: Review and approve mural concepts
• September 2020: Mural installation
• September 30, 2020: Mural installation must be substantially complete

Selection Process

After the submission deadline, all entries are evaluated by our selection committee based on the submission’s response. Two artists will be selected and announced on July 23rd, 2020, as the selected artists. The two selected artists will be asked to sign an agreement with the Fort Wayne Public Art Commission. After the final artists are selected, the artist(s) will participate in a series of community conversations that will help develop the stories in which the community want to express through the project. The artist will use this community engagement to guide their vision for their mural concepts. The artist will submit concepts to the selection committee who will approve one concept for installation on the pre-determined wall.

Selection Criteria

• Artist merit and technical expertise
• Demonstrated successful, innovative and effective approach to public art projects of a similar scope
• Ability to successfully execute a public art project in a culturally rich and complex area
• Expressed interest in creating artwork for the opportunities presented by this request for qualifications

What to Submit

1. Statement of Interest. In one page using no smaller than 12pt font, address the conceptual approach of the project and how the project will contribute to your existing body of work.
2. Résumé that outlines professional accomplishments (maximum of one page per person). Please include your address and three professional references (name, affiliated organizations, email address and phone number).
3. List of works submitted for a review that includes project title, location, date completed, media, brief description of the project and budget (if applicable). Keep descriptions less than 100 words.
4. Past work samples (no more than 4 images).

How to Submit

Applications must be submitted via e-mail to BOTH Réna Bradley, Faces of the Fort Committee Chair at rbradley@bridgeofgracecmc.org and Dan Baisden, City of Fort Wayne Public Art Manager at dan.baisden@cityoffortwayne.org on or before July 5, 2020 at 11:59 P.M EST.

QUESTIONS? All questions must be submitted by e-mail to both Réna Bradley, rbradley@bridgeofgracecmc.org and Dan Baisden, dan.baisden@cityoffortwayne.org no later than June 26, 2020. Questions will be answered as a separate PDF form available on Monday, June 29th at http://www.fwcommunitydevelopment.org.